First grader stops runaway stroller, saves sister

SUPPORTIVE STUDENTS: Jacob’s classmates were excited to see him earn the medal.

LITTLE HERO: Jacob Minnis, 7, a Cranston resident and fifth grader at St. Peter’s Elementary School, recently saved his sister, Gia, 1, from a horrible accident. To honor his heroic actions, two Warwick firefighters, Pvt. Rob Vallely (left) and Lt. John Halloran, visited the school Thursday and presented Jacob with a medal and citation from the city of Warwick. Jacob’s mother, Kim Albanese, stands in the center holding Gia.

A leisurely stroll could have resulted in a fatal tragedy if not for the quick actions and bravery of Cranston resident Jacob Minnis, 7, a first grader at St. Peter School.

A few weeks ago, Minnis, his mother Kim Albanese, and his little sister Gia, 1, were preparing for a walk in their Pawtuxet Village neighborhood in front of their waterfront home on Aborn Street. One minute, everything was fine. But, suddenly the brake to Gia’s stroller gave way and headed down the driveway backwards, across the sloped street and toward the bay.

“She was going full speed down the steep road and my mom tripped on her belly,” Minnis said. “I feel like a hero because I saved my sister. I feel proud of myself and happy that my sister is safe and that my mom is safe.”

Albanese, who is pregnant with twins, said the experience was a nightmare. However, she is grateful Gia and Jacob remained unscathed.

“I saw Jacob running and he fell and got dragged by the stroller,” she said. “It was an absolute disaster but I’m relieved it turned out the way it did. We are so lucky because it could have been terrible. It was like a scene out of a movie.”

Thursday, members of the Warwick Fire Department visited the school at 120 Mayfair Road and presented Jacob with a medal and citation from the city of Warwick.

Pvt. Rob Vallely and Lt. John Halloran said they were honored to be a part of the event.

“It’s a pretty incredible story,” said Halloran. “He’s a hero. Anyone who does that for another person is a hero.”

Vallely added, “He was alert to the whole situation.”

Additionally, Jacob’s grandparents, Marianne and Larry Minnis, as well as Jim and Kris Anderson, attended the brief ceremony. They, along with Jacob’s father, Tyler Minnis, and his stepfather, Anthony Albanese, sang their praises for Jacob and his heroic actions.

“It was a very scary moment and he rose to the occasion,” Jim Anderson said.